Heart on Fire
by Usa-chan12
Summary: Zuko has many things on his mind. The Promise he made between him and Aang, the people of the colonies, and his deteriorating relationship with Mai. He meets a girl in Yu Dao who tries to help him through his journey, but can she help him or will involving her just make things take a turn for the worse? Zuko x ?


**Disclaimer:** I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.

Sakura of course is a character I made, so technically I own her.

* * *

It was the day after Zuko's coronation. Zuko, now Fire Lord, was overjoyed about how he could restore his Nation to its rightful form. It would become a Nation of peace and not tyranny or destruction; he wouldn't let anyone believe that under his rule that the Fire Nation would be the enemy of the world. They all gathered at the Earth Kingdom, starting what they believed to a path of world peace. To start of the restoration of peace, they talked about the Fire Nation colonies that nested within the Earth Kingdom. Aang, our savior, had his finger placed on the map on the wall of the Earth Kingdom palace of Ba Sing Se. His finger rested on the location where the colonies were, "I never realized the Fire Nation had built so many colonies in the Earth Kingdom." His voice had shown of shock, his eyes staring at the fire symbol of the Fire Nation that rose on the places were the colonies were.

"Yes," said the young King Kuei as he stood there with his arms in each sleeve of his long robe. He looked at the map as Aang looked at him, Zuko doing the same, and the others resting their eyes on the map. "For the Earth people, they're a constant reminder of the war, like an old scar." Then taking note of the Fire Lord, who was also scarred, he had quickly attempted to apologize. "Oh, I… I—Fire Lord Zuko, I meant nothing personal!" King Kuei tried to reassure him that he was sorry.

The young man had merely shaken his head in a means to tell him that he was not offended and understood what he meant. "No, Earth King Kuei. You're right. After all the pain my father has caused, it's my duty to bring healing to the world. I'll remove those colonies. I'll do whatever it takes." Zuko continued to look at the map as his eyes then gave attention to the young airbender.

"But removing the colonies won't be easy. A lot of people's lives are gonna be disrupted. We need someone to oversee everything, to make sure it all goes peacefully. Someone like me!" The enthusiasm in his voice was hard to miss.

Zuko smiled at the excited look on his face, "Really? You'd want to do that?"

"Yeah, I'm the Avatar! Making stuff go peacefully is kind of my thing!" He pointed to himself proudly while saying so.

And just as Aang was excited, so was everyone else. King Kuei had clapped his hands gleefully, "Wonderful!" He said, "The Avatar's personal involvement will give the entire process an air of hope!"

"Sokka and I can help!" Katara said while her brother, who was leaning on the rail, was less than happy.

"Aw, I was gonna visit Kiyoshi Island." He whined, everyone knowing who resided and fought there.

A hand now placed on his chin, the young King Kuei had went into deep thought. "It'll be a movement—A movement towards Harmony! We'll call it…" He paused, still figuring out a name.

The watertribe warrior had lifted a finger in the air, "The Harmony Restoration Movement!" The name seemingly coming from the top of his head.

The Earth King slapped his fist in his palm, a big smile on his face. "Yes! The Harmony Restoration Movement! I like it!" He said which made Sokka grin victoriously and proudly.

"What's with you and your goofy names?" Toph managed to ask, her first time speaking since the whole meeting had begun.

The boy merely had his cheesy grin and an eyebrow arched, "It's a gift." He managed to reply as the Earthbender merely rolled her eyes.

After that day, Earth King Kuei planned a celebration where he would announce the Harmony Restoration movement. Before the festivities began, they decided to visit the Jasmine Dragon, a famous and lovely teashop in Ba Sing Se. Also, it was owned by Zuko's lovable uncle, Iroh.

* * *

The Gaang had all aboard Appa that night of the celebration. Aang had made the bison swoop down, causing much excitement for Sokka, Katara, and Suki but Zuko and Toph to become afraid and uneasy, clinging onto the saddle. "Ha ha! Let's go again!" Aang cheered, Toph and Zuko look unenthusiastic about the idea.

Suki, who had joined them, had pointed towards the right. "Wait, guys! The fireworks are starting!" She informed them and Aang had made a quick turn, heading towards the direction she had pointed. All different colors of the beautiful explosives had erupted in the air, sending the crackles and poom sounds into the night sky. "Wow. The view is amazing!" Katara said, her blue eyes wide and mouth open agape.

"It is! Thanks buddy." Aang said to his bison companion, rubbing his head which caused the animal to raor in response. From below, people were jumping up and down celebrating and others waving at the Avatar and their group. "Sounds like the Earth King just announced the Harmony Restoration Movement." He said as "woos!" and "yeahs" filled the air along with the fireworks.

Toph then turned toward Sokka, preying on him. She was still a bit upset about the fireworks, the sounds very annoying and hurtful to her sensitive ears. "Hey, wanna know what fireworks sounds like for me?" Sokka suddenly nodded, falling for her scheme. "Close your eyes." She instructed and he did as she crawled over to him and let out a huge screech, "BOOOOM!" Right in his ear, causing the boy to scream in response with his eyes wide and his ears ringing.

Katara moved towards the younger female and hugged her, "Oh, Toph! Don't be such a grump! You're out with friends on a beautiful night, celebrating the fact that we saved the world!" She tried to shed some light on the situation while Sokka was still kicking and moaning as well as squirming with his hands pressed to his ears. He kept screaming ouch repeatedly, probably feeling even worse now that the fireworks were still going on.

"True." Toph finally said, her frown turning upside down while Suki laughed while being all the more concerned about her temporary half-deaf boyfriend.

Zuko, however, looked off in the distance with his mind elsewhere. Aang took noticed and the placed his fingers at the corner of his mouth to make himself have a big, pearly smile with his lemur companion doing the same expression. "You, too, your new majesty Fire Lord Zuko sir!" He said, "Turn that frown upside down! It's happy time!" The Fire Lord still didn't look too happy, but he did indeed look at Aang but wanted to speak on another matter. "Zuko?" Aang frowned, now growing worried.

Finally, the firebender spoke. "I visited my father in prison the other day… I've been meaning to ask you for a favor, Aang."

"Sure. Anything." His friend replied, a look of question on his face as his eyes were wide with curiosity.

The atmosphere had gotten serious as well as Zuko's tone of voice and expression. "If you ever see me turning into my father, I want you to… I want you to _**end me**_." And we all knew what he meant by that choice of words.

"What?!" Aang said incredulously, not quite sure why Zuko, his friend, would even ask that of him and before he could question it, Zuko gave him the answer.

"Even now, after everything that's happened, my family's legacy is still apart of me. That's why it's my duty to heal the scars that the Fire Nation has left on the world, but the Fire Lord's throne comes with a lot of pressure, and if I'm honest with myself… I need a safety net. The world needs a safety next. That's what I need you to be, Aang. The safety net." As much as Zuko knew it was hurting Aang to even thinking about this, he knew what had to be done.

But the Avatar had decided to fight this, "Zuko, you're _**not**_ your dad! And you're my _**friend**_! How can you expect me-"

The Fire Lord interrupted, "As your friend, I'm asking you—If you ever see me go bad, end me. _**Promise me, Aang**_."

Katara had frowned, but once Aang looked at her, she gave him a firm nod. Even though she herself did not feel Aang should do this, she didn't even want this, but she knew what Zuko meant. This promise was definitely for the greater good. "…Fine. _**I promise**_."

As the fireworks continued on… The celebration seemed to die within the group.

* * *

"Kori, aren't you taking things a bit too far?!" A hand had grabbed the arm of another female, but the girl who was being held back had struggled against the others hold. "What you're doing can kill you!"

"I know what I'm doing, Sakura!" Her sister argued as her hand soon slipped away from the girl's grasp.

Sakura and Kori Morshita are siblings and the children of the mayor of Yu Dao. Both of them were raised to honor both the Fire Nation Royal Family and their hometown. Kori, however, had much more will to do something about it while her sister, Sakura, was more concerned about their safety. Kori was the older of the two, being seventeen, and had light chestnut brown hair and eyes to match. Sakura, however, had black hair like their grandmother and fallow-brown colored eyes. Both of them had similar frames, Kori's body more defined from her constant fighting and Sakura's more petite because of her lack of fighting. Kori was an earthbender and Sakura was a firebender like their father. Sakura, however, rarely fought whereas her sister was more headstrong.

Sakura attempted to stop her older sister again, "What will it take to stop you?" She asked, a frown adorning her face as she looked at her sister with sad eyes. "I'll go with you!"

Kori had turned to look at her sister, her face showing a much softer expression. Her hands the gripped her sister's shoulders much more in a serious matter than at a means to hurt her or grip her up. "Sakura, I don't want you involved in this. Make sure mom and dad are distracted, okay? I have to take this into my own hands. If I don't do something, nobody will and I have to make sure we continue to have a home, all right?"

Her sister narrowed her eyes and then looked down at the floor, staring at the space between them. After a minute or so, she looked back up her sisters dark brown eyes before nodding. "Fine, I'll distract them, but you have to promise me that you'll come back, okay? I… I'm worried about you." The elder sibling wrapped her arms around Sakura, who had soon done the same. "I love you, Kori. Be safe and strong for Yu Dao."

Once Kori pulled away, she nodded her head and placed the black mask up her face so that it covered half of it. And then her sister had gone off into the night, leaving Sakura in her room and worried about the welfare of her sister. She had known that if she was caught, she could be a prisoner to the Fire Nation or even worse, killed.

_**The Next Day…**_

Sakura's feet was shuffling across the wooden floor, her eyes looking frantically all around. Her sister hadn't come back yet and not just that, her parents kept questioning her about Kori's whereabouts. Her first excuse why her sister missed breakfast was because she went to go change, the second excuse why her training was taking so long was because she was hanging out with her friends, and third excuse of why they saw her friends without her was that she left to go hangout with Sneers. It was hard to keep coming up with all these things and so she finally ran away as a means to not be bothered.

The dark-haired female didn't have many friends, her sister more outgoing than she was, and because she didn't feel like she must fit in with most of the children of Yu Dao. Most of them, if not all of them, were quite adventurous and rowdy whereas Sakura had followed every order her parents made her do. Unlike Kori, Sakura was more than likely to marry for political gains because she wasn't as rebellious and temperamental as her sister. They saw her as the pride of their family and even though she was a firebender, she didn't much involve herself in the bending art.

Once she found herself at the exit, she placed on her red shoes and walked straight out of the house but as soon as she did, she had seen her sister running forward. "Kori?!" She said in shock as her father came out after her.

"Stop! Stop!" Kori seemed to yell, but Sakura had looked up and seen why. Her eyes widened as their father grabbed his eldest daughter by her wrist since they were chanined as she ran into him.

The Mayor was very concerned for his daughter, "Kori! Where have you been? Your mother and I were worried sick!" He explained as Sakura continued to stare at the young male behind her. "Wait- Who are these men? What are these chains?" He looked down at them and back at the two guards.

"I went to go see someone about our _**problem**_, father." Said Kori as her father looked confused by what she meant.

"Who?" He asked as he looked down at his daughter.

Kori looked over his shoulder, "Him."

"F-Fire Lord Zuko!" The Mayor said in shock as Sakura's eyes widened. This was the new Fire Lord?

Zuko continued to walk forward, a very sense of regalness in his step but a very much tired yet frustrated look on his face. "You must be Mayor Morishita." He continued to walk forward until he finally stopped a good amount of space before them. "Your daughter snuck into my home and tried to kill me!"

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at her sister in disbelief. How could she attempt to do something that extreme? She thought Kori was gonna shake him up, not end his life! "Kori?!" Their father said in disbelief.

As a means to defend herself, Kori spoke. "_**Someone **_had to do _**something**_!" She spat as her eyes narrowed at the Fire Lord.

Sakura and Mayor Morishita had both bowed with their heads to the ground in apology. "My sincerest apologies for my daughter's rash behavior, Fire Lord. Have mercy!"

"I should have this whole place burned down!" Zuko snarled as Sakura's eyes began to brim with tears.

Her father helped her to her feet as her sister pushed her face towards the Fire Lord, "Why bother?! The Harmony Restoration Movement will accomplish the same thing without having to lift a finger!" She yelled.

"Why can't you colonials get it through your thick skulls?! The Harmony Restoration Movement is a means to peace!" Spat Zuko, his voice rising just as high and becoming dark.

"P-Peace?" Morishita had said in a flabbergasted manner, "Peace for _**whom**_?! With all due respect, your majesty, my family has lived on this land for generation! This city was built on our blood and sweat! We have as much a right to be here as anyone else." He replied, showing his frustration.

The Fire Lord than responded, "You're Fire Nation citizens! You should live in the Fire Nation!"

"You're right, Fire Lord. We _**are**_ Fire Nation citizens!" Sakura looked at her father as he spoke before looking back at Zuko, "And I'll tell you this, your father would never have let the Avatar and the Earth King bully him into something obviously bad for his own Nation's citizens!"

The amber-eyed lord appeared to be taken back, "My father…?" He muttered. Suddenly, a large ball of flame appeared before them and Zuko had Morishita pinned to a wall by his neck and his free hand in a fist, raised in the air. "I'M NOT MY FATHER!" His frustration taking control as Sakura whimpered in fear of her father.

"No, young man. You're not. Fire Lord Ozai had many faults, but he was never a _**coward**_. He was never a _**traitor**_."

Sakura had run inbetween the two, "Please! Let's not fight." She placed her hand on the Fire Lord's shoulder, her eyes pleading him to let go of her father. He looked at her and back at the Mayor before letting the heavyset man fall onto his backside. "Fire Lord Zuko, may I show you why you can take this place away from us? Stay here for a week and so you can understand why you shouldn't take us away." She asked as he continued to look at her, being quite stubborn but he had gave in.

Morshita had looked at his daughter as she had helped him to his feet. He rubbed atop of her head, "Than you, Sakura." His voice was soft as she nodded her head, "You will stay with us, Fire Lord Zuko. We will accommodate you with everything, your needs will be met."

Zuko had nodded his head before his guards came, "We're going to stay here for a week." He told them as they nodded their hands in confirmation before going towards the ship to tell others the new plans.

* * *

That night, they had all sat at the rather large table in the dining room. There was awkward silence and Kori exchanged dirty looks with the Fire Lord. "So, Fire Lord Zuko…" Morshita began and the former prince looked at him to give him his full attention, "Have you ever tried an Earth Kingdom meal?" He asked.

"Yes, I have." Zuko answered as Sakura and her mother came from the kitchen and placed the food onto the table. Morshita's younger daughter had begun to place servings of the food on Zuko's plate in a rather neat matter, not wanting to anger him in some type of way. After watching him explode like that, she was trying to avoid from letting another repeat happen again. She had then placed food on his ship's General, Shou, his servings in a neat manner while her mother prepared the plated for her father and older sister. "You don't have servants to cook for you?"

Mrs. Morishita decided to speak, "We do but Sakura insisted that we cook. She thinks it would add a more homely atmosphere." She said as Sakura looked down shyly when Zuko turned to look at her.

"It's a nice change." He said as the younger female smiled as he then took note that the food being served was both of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom culture. "You have combined food culture?"

"That doesn't bother you, does it?" Kori asked as she then seen her younger sister cut her a look. Picking up her chopsticks, Kori placed a clump of white rice in her mouth and began to eat.

The Fire Lord shook his head, "Not at all." He answered which surprised Kori, her father, and mother. Sakura then took her seat next to her sister and began to eat her white rice as well. "I was once a refugee in the Earth Kingdom." He mentioned, "So Earth Kingdom meals were all I ate."

Sakura looked at him at shock as well as the rest of her family, "A refugee? But you were-" Before the Mayor could finished, Zuko interrupted him.

"I was a traitor to the Fire Nation at the time. My sister was after me and the only way I could escape her and being sent to prison, I had to disguise myself as an Earth Kingdom refugee with my Uncle." The golden-eyed male explained as Sakura seemed enthused about the story.

She had placed her chopsticks down, "What was it like?" Sakura managed to say, "I mean… it had to be rough."

"Sakura, you shouldn't pry into a man's past." Her mother warned her but Zuko had a small smile.

"It's alright, I don't mind." He informed them after he ate some of his rice. "It was rough but my uncle taught me to make the most out of my situation. Even though the life of the Earth Kingdom was not for me, I had learned many things about myself and it helped my Uncle decide how he wanted to spend the rest of his life."

Kori poked and prodded her food before finally speaking her mind, "Why can't you just leave? We don't want you here as much as you don't want us here."

"Kori!" Her father showed his disappointment at her words, but Zuko defended her.

"Its quite alright. She's angry with me and I don't blame her." He then placed his chopsticks down and bowed slightly, "I'm going to head to sleep for the night."

Sakura, her father, and mother had all bowed, "Please let Sakura escort you and your General to your rooms." The Mayor said as his daughter stood up and walked alongside them down the hallway away from the kitchen. Sakura had quickly showed the general his room, in which he bid them both a goodnight before entering, and now it was Zuko and Sakura walking down the dimly lit, large hallway.

"I apologize for my sister's behavior." The younger girl finally spoke, her head down as she fiddled with her fingers. "She has a hard time forgiving."

Zuko gave her a half smile, "She kind of reminds me of my girlfriend. She… She's quite deadly when she's angry."

The female looked taken back, "Your girlfriend? Why did you not bring her along?" Sakura then asked, curious.

"I didn't want to stress her with the trouble." He answered as she then opened the door to his room. She then bowed before turning and walked down the hallway, it only taken three steps for her to take before he called her name. "Sakura." His voice was in much of its calmer state.

The dark-haired female turned to look at him, her fallow brown eyes showing much of her inquisitiveness. "Yes, Fire Lord Zuko?"

"Thank you." A small smile appeared on his face but even though it was small, probably something to be serious over Sakura had felt her cheeks flush warm. "You've been kind to me even when I didn't deserve it."

Sakura returned his smile with a much brighter and larger one, "Kindness is the first step of a friendship. I hope we can become friends, Fire Lord Zuko. Despite our differences and the trouble of what happens with Yu Dao, I don't want to make enemies with you." And with that said, she bowed once more before heading her way down the hall and unable to wipe the smile from her face.

Zuko had closed the door, still keeping the smile of his own before he thought about his girlfriend back at the Fire Nation. She was definitely going to be pissed when she found out that he had left to Yu Dao without telling her about the situation and without even offering her to come.

* * *

Thanks for reading my story and this is my first fanfiction.

I don't expect you guys to go easy on me because of it but I hope I enjoeyd most of you.

R&R


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